Microsoft has announced the availability of the first MS SQL Server 2017 public release candidate (RC1). In a blog post, the company says that development work for the new version of SQL Server is complete, in order to bring better performance and security.

The MS SQL Server 2017 will run on both Linux and Windows Server. Microsoft used the Microsoft Research “Drawbridge” technology in order to bring SQL Server 2017 on Linux. “Drawbridge” has been in the works for years and it’s the Microsoft Research adaptation of the Library OS.

“Drawbridge” technology played an important role in getting the Bash shell to run on Windows 10. This implementation combined with the new Ubuntu Linux for Windows 10 app, gives users the ability to smoothly run Linux on Windows 10.

Up until now, Microsoft has released seven Community Technology Previews of SQL Server 2017. In these previews, MS SQL Server 2017 has delivered support for Linux, graph data processing, adaptive query processing, and Python integration.

Here is a list of features that the MS SQL Server 2017 offers:

“SQL Server on Linux Active Directory integration

Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt data

SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)

Machine Learning Services enhancements

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) on Linux

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) on Windows Server”

Getting started with MS SQL Server 2017

As mentioned above, the SQL Server 2017 RC1 will run on Linux and Windows Server as well. Specifically, users can install it on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and on Linux Docker containers.

Of course, you can install it on Windows or macOS, along with the Windows Server. Microsoft provides tutorials and guides on how to install MS SQL Server 2017 on each of the above. To get started with SQL Server 2017, check the links below:

Kostas is a former sports journalist and an amateur gamer. Combining his love for technology with his writing experience, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. Being an artistic “soul”, he is also writing poems and short stories.